Kava bars popping up in South Florida

There appears to be a new trend in bars here in South Florida, and it has nothing to do with alcohol.

Photo of the new kava bar on Clematis Street. Photo courtesy @AGuyOnClematis.

It’s called kava — a drink made from the powdered root of a kava plant. Popular in the South Pacific Islands such as Fiji, it is known for its supposed relaxing abilities. It was introduced only recently to the U.S.

Apparently, though, kava’s reputation has been spreading. Three new kava bars are popping up in Palm Beach County — one in downtown West Palm Beach, another in Abacoa, and a third in Delray Beach.

“Kava is new to the Western world, but it’s really catching on,” said Frank Savino, owner of soon-to-be-opened Kavookah in Abacoa. His store will be a mixture of kava and hookah bar. “I’ve seen a lot of increased demand for kava. It’s something people, especially young people, are enjoying.”

Further south,the father of one of the owners of Kavasutra in downtown Lake Worth has opened a new location in the 500 block of Clematis Street, called Kavasutra Tu. (Thanks to @AGuyOnClematis for the tip!)

Kavasutra’s voice mail message sums up kava fairly succintly:

“Kava is a beverage made from the root of the kava plant, harvested from various Pacific islands, perfect for relaxation, conversation, insomnia, muscle relaxation or just getting bombed. There’s no age restrictions on kava, and kava never shows on a drug test or breathalyzer.”

“Business has been good,” said Dylan Harrison, co-owner of the Kavasutra in Lake Worth. He said he is also eyeing expansion elsewhere in the county, but declined to say where. “We’re just trying to get people to come try it, because if they do, I think a lot of people will like it.”

There’s already a kava place in the downtown West Palm Beach area: the Purple Lotus, on South Dixie Highway across from The Whitney condo building.

It’s been around for seven years, according to owner Jim Scianno. He said it took him years to build up his business and to create awareness about kava.

Now, he says, a lot of people are interested in trying kava. (Still, he doesn’t think there’s enough demand to support both places downtown.)

Harrison said he thinks there are plenty of customers for both businesses. “I’m sure (Scianno’s) not thrilled about it, but that’s capitalism,” he said.

Meanwhile, Scianno has his own expansion plans underway. He says he’s about “80 percent done” on a second Purple Lotus location in Delray Beach, which should open sometime this year.

While these new kava shops are coming into a relatively uncluttered field (besides the bars already mentioned, there is also Nakava in Boca Raton), demand for new stores appears to be picking up.

And kava is apparently not the only relaxing drink gaining in popularity. A March story by the Wall Street Journal quoted market-research firm Datamonitor PLC as saying that nearly 100 new relaxation beverages—including different sizes and flavors—have appeared on the U.S. market in the past three years.

According to the WSJ story:

Kava root … an ingredient in Mary Jane’s soda, obtains an unusual grade of “A” for treatment of anxiety from Natural Standard Research Collaboration, a Cambridge, Mass., scientist-owned group that evaluates natural therapies. The grade means there is strong scientific evidence for effectiveness, but it applies only to the use of kava in people with doctor-diagnosed anxiety, not ordinary stress. The Relaxing Co., which markets Mary Jane’s for such daily challenges as “road rage” and “public speaking” and “lousy girlfriends,” says it is beginning a clinical trial to test its effectiveness in combating everyday stress.

Kava root should be used cautiously—particularly in people at risk for liver problems, scientists say. In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration warned that kava root had been linked to “severe liver injury,” including liver failure and the need for a transplant.